Corey Parker has praised Dolphins’ replacement fullback Trai Fuller after he scored one of the tries of the season in last night’s victory.
The Dolphins defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 30-24 in slippery conditions up at Suncorp Stadium, where Fuller starred in his final game deputising for Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow before the Queensland representative returns from injury next week.
In the 35th minute, Fuller burst through some lazy Manly defence on halfway before chipping over Tom Trbojevic, regathering and outrunning any Sea Eagles chasers, in an impressive example of speed and skill.
Corey Parker was highly complimentary of The Dolphins’ fullback after his standout showing.
“It was like the kid playing in the backyard,” Parker told SENQ Mornings with Ben Davis.
“(He) plays real eyes up football and he’s done that ever since he’s come into first grade for The Dolphins… (he's) only a small guy but handles himself well, he’s got great courage and then he’s got some great skill as we saw last night à la ‘Billy Slater try’.”
Fuller made his debut late last season at the age of 27, having honed his craft over the past seven years with the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup.
Given Fuller’s impressive form currently, questions have been asked about his position in the squad when Tabuai-Fidow returns, after Wayne confirmed the ‘Hammer’ would return to play fullback in first grade next week.
“To my knowledge, I don’t think Trai Fuller is part of their top 30,” Parker revealed.
“He might just slot back into reserve grade… maybe there’s another club out there that says we could do with a Trai Fuller in our team, or he goes into a 14 role.
“Theres the opportunity that he could potentially be on the bench… I suppose it depends on the style of play.”
In last night’s win, Fuller ran for 155m metres, had a try, a line break, and no errors in poor conditions.
The Dolphins now have a huge 10-day turnaround, playing the Wests Tigers on Sunday week.